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Hai, or Eastern Sea, with northerly gale for Van Dieman’s Strait. The wind, however, hauled to N. E., and headed the vessel off, so that she could not fetch or lie up to her course, and on the morning of the 7th, running down on a course for Colnett Straits, she passed close to Ingersoll Rocks. Strong indications of typhoon to the S. E., and thick weather prevented the captain passing through the Straits. Low barometer, heavy cross swell, occasional flashes of lightning, and a general threatening appearance of the weather, determined the captain to keep on the western side of the chain of islands, and await the result of the coming gale. On the morning of the 8th barometer rose 0.2, from 29.30 to 29.50, a circumstance that caused the captain to think he was all clear of the typhoon, and so hauled up on the wind and passed through what he calls Monturose Pass, between the islands of Tokara and Tokasima, standing E. S. E., between Cape Monturose and Macedonian Rocks, to a point in latitude 28 deg. 34 min. N. and long. 129 deg. 54 E., the ship’s position when the typhoon commenced; but the wind having changed to E. S. E., Captain Quayle stood to the N. and E’d., and while doing so, the barometer rose to 29.70. This calmed the mind of the captain, who, up to this time, had been exceedingly anxious, in consequence of the proximity of land to leeward. He believed that he was all clear of the typhoon, and that it would pass on his quarter (to the N’d. and W’d.), but he was not destined long to rejoice in this sweet illusion, for he quickly discovered that he had misinterpreted the message of his faithful barometer, which soon after began to fall rapidly, and the wind increasing in due proportion, gave notice that the dreaded gale had caught him, and left him no way by which to escape without the risk of placing his ship in imminent danger, and being wrecked on one of the numerous islands composing the Loo-Choo and Linschoten groups, should he attempt to pass through, being at this time unable to see anything but dark and frowning clouds which seemed to rest upon the surface of the ocean. In this dilemma he resorted to the only
